When the puck drops today in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals, the Ducks want to gain possession of it. If the Chicago Blackhawks have it, the Ducks want to tear from their grasp. The Ducks want to hit rather than get hit. They want to be on their toes, rather than on their heels.

Tall order?

Of course.

Can the Ducks do it and defeat the Blackhawks and advance to the Stanley Cup Final next week?

No question, the Ducks know how not to play a Game 7. They were overwhelmed by the moment in their last two, nervous and tentative during winner-take-all games last season in the second round against the Kings and in 2013 in the first round against the Detroit Red Wings.

The Ducks don’t have to look back that far, either. They need only recall their wait-and-see play during a disastrous 5-2 loss to the Blackhawks in Game 6 on Wednesday in Chicago, when they let the opposition dictate the terms of the game for extended stretches.

“It’s happened too often the last couple of years,” Ducks right wing Corey Perry said Friday. “But you win (Saturday) night and people start talking about something different. We’re not focused on the past. We’re focused on starting something different.

“It’s one game to go play for the Stanley Cup. You know, it doesn’t get any more exciting than that. That’s what we’re talking about today: go out, go play your game, do what you normally do, don’t try to do somebody else’s job, you’ll be OK.”

The Ducks said the trick is to play the game better than the last one, than the last series, than during the regular season. The goal is to play the best game of 2014-15, and maybe their lives, too, in Game 7 against the Blackhawks.

They would do well to win more faceoffs than they lose, deliver more hits than the opposition, fire more shots on goal and, of course, score more than the other guys. Winning the little battles for loose pucks and for position also would help aid the Ducks’ cause.

At this point, it’s not about subtle lineup tweaks or game-plan adjustments.

“I think it’s about who wants it more,” Ducks center Ryan Kesler said. “I don’t think it’s about Xs and Os anymore. I think it’s about who wants it more and who is ready to out-compete the guy across from him. Whoever that is, is going to win the game.”

The Ducks’ history isn’t good in Game 7s. They are 2-4 overall.

The Blackhawks’ all-time record isn’t great either. They are 6-6.

Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau is 1-5 in his career in Game 7s. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is 2-4.

Bottom line, Game 7s are difficult to win.

The home team often has the advantage, winning 59.1 percent of the time (94-65), according to statistics compiled by the NHL. The team that scores the first goal has an even bigger edge, winning 73.6 percent of the time (117-42).

“You can prepare all you want, think about it all you want, but you have to go out and do it,” Perry said. “You have to go out and play hockey, do your job. Since the series started, it’s all about beating the Blackhawks. That’s all it is. You have to go out and beat that team on the other side. You have one opportunity to make it (happen) … and play for that Stanley Cup.”

The Ducks said they are confident their best is better than the Blackhawks’ best.

Or anyone else’s best in the NHL, for that matter.

“When we play to our capabilities, when we push the pace and we’re on our toes, we feel like we’re a difficult team to compete with,” Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said. “We need to have that mindset tomorrow, regardless of the situation or the magnitude of where we are.

“We need to come out as the aggressors. That’s something we’ve talked about. We’re a really good hockey team when we do that. We need to stick with what got us here and take that into (Game 7).”

Elliott Teaford covers the Anaheim Ducks for the Orange County Register and the Southern California News Group. He covered the Ducks for 12 years, including the Stanley Cup season, for the Los Angeles Times and the Daily Breeze before returning to the beat in 2018 for SCNG. He also covered the Lakers for five seasons, including their back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and '10. He once made a jump shot over future Utah Jazz center Mark Eaton during a pickup game in 1980 at Cypress College.